Teaching Assistant Spotlight: Flor Quiroz
Humanities Experience Supports Community-Based Service Projects
What is it like to be a TA with the Humanities Research Lab? We recently sat down with Flor Quiroz, a teaching assistant with the Humanities Research Lab program, to learn more about her experience. Flor is a sophomore (Class of 2025) at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where she is double majoring in Clinical Psychology and Spanish.
Interview by Giovanna Gutierrez, HRI Communications and Outreach Intern
Why did you apply to be a teaching assistant for a Humanities Research Lab course? What interested you about the opportunity?
I applied because it was a unique experience, and I was thinking about majoring in education, so it was a way to get a bit more hands-on and see if that was something I wanted to pursue in the future. I also had a previous class with Professor Ann Abbott and felt it would be an interesting experience to work with her.
Can you briefly describe the course you are working with? What kinds of work or projects do you do as a TA for this course?
Yes, so it is Spanish 232: Spanish in the Community. We cover a lot of Latin culture here in Urbana-Champaign and speak about immigration and the difficulties and issues that immigrants and Latinos face here. We also have a service-oriented section where our students are required to do 20 hours of community service in which they can use their Spanish language to help. It is like civic engagement in that they get to learn from their hands-on experiences.
Some of their service projects include working alongside the immigration project or Urbana's public high school in a way that allows them to use their Spanish speaking skills. As a TA for this course, I have been responsible for designing assignments that were relevant to the HRI section, grading, responding to emails, looking for other service opportunities for the students, and assisting during class presentations.
How has your understanding of community-based research evolved through your work with the Humanities Research Lab course?
Focusing on specific community demographics is important since community research is extensive. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, I have learned to focus on a specific population and work from there.
Why should undergraduate students apply to take an HRL course?
I believe they should apply because, while we do a lot of STEM research in school, this opportunity shows you that there are other types of research you can do, such as population based research. This may pique your interest for the future or [help identify] a specific population you want to help out in the future. For example, if the Latino population is lacking in food or resources, you may use your agricultural knowledge to aid, or if they are lacking in medical requirements, you can use your psychology training to help.
How will you apply what you have learned from this experience to your future endeavors?
Well, I'm a clinical psychology major, so it's been interesting to work with people from different generations, as well as professors and students my age or younger, to see how we can build a more community-based environment and how we can help with communication, especially when there is a language barrier.
Published 4/17/23